Su Jiu forcibly suppressed the urge to slap the [Dragon Saliva Stone] back into Su Ji's face.
She stiffened her expression again, her voice cooling by three degrees.
"Speak."
Seeing Su Jiu's demeanor soften slightly, Su Ji quickly seized the opportunity. "It's crucial."
As expected, though Su Jiu didn't ask directly, her perked ears and slight forward lean betrayed her curiosity.
Su Ji cleared his throat, his exaggerated expression fading as an unprecedented gravity settled over him.
"Junior Sister, do you remember when I asked you if Foundation Establishment requires overcoming a lightning tribulation?"
Su Jiu paused, then nodded without a word.
Su Ji continued, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"When I establish my foundation, there will definitely be a lightning tribulation."
"And not just any ordinary one."
He hesitated, recalling the visions from his glimpse into fate.
"To be precise, it's a divine punishment."
"Once I begin my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, the divine punishment will descend, covering at least a fifty-mile radius centered on me."
"At that moment, you, me, and everyone in the Love-Longing Sect—every living thing—will be reduced to ashes in an instant."
The cavern fell into a terrifying silence.
Only the distant roars of the fire drake and the bubbling of flowing magma could be heard.
Su Jiu was inclined to believe him.
Su Ji's ability to foresee the future was nothing short of horrifying.
No wonder...
"So, you came here to..."
Su Ji cut her off. "Exactly."
"This is the only solution I could think of."
"Only deep underground, hundreds of meters below the surface, can I possibly evade the divine punishment and complete my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment!"
The sheer weight of his words left Su Jiu's mind racing as she pieced everything together.
Even in the midst of his life-or-death pursuit of the Dao, Su Ji had still taken the time to retrieve the potentially useful [Dragon Saliva Stone] for her.
Her fingers tightened around the still-warm stone, her knuckles whitening as her clear fox eyes filled with doubt.
"But... Senior Brother, are you certain this place can shield you from the tribulation?"
Her voice carried skepticism as she laid out the facts.
"We're barely a hundred zhang beneath the surface."
"Given what you've described—if the tribulation's power truly spans fifty miles centered on you..."
"This... given its destructive force... there's a ninety percent chance it won't work."
She wasn't questioning him—just stating the obvious.
A hundred zhang underground might seem deep to an ordinary cultivator, but against what Su Ji called a "divine punishment," such distance would hardly be enough.
"Though... the power might be slightly diminished..."
Yet, Su Ji showed no trace of panic.
"I don't know. All I know is that if I stay here, I'll survive the tribulation."
His words shattered Su Jiu's understanding.
How?
If the Heavenly Dao intends to punish you, how could simply changing locations make it relent?
This defied all logic!
"But—"
"Junior Sister." Su Ji interrupted again, leaning in abruptly until their faces were inches apart.
His gaze locked onto her bewildered fox-like eyes.
"Has any future I've foreseen ever deviated from reality?"
Su Jiu fell silent.
No.
Not even the slightest discrepancy.
"I only have one life. I wouldn't gamble with it."
Su Jiu was at a loss for words.
She trusted Su Ji.
But she couldn't comprehend the reasoning behind this.
It contradicted every bit of cultivation knowledge she had learned from her clan's ancient texts.
Seeing her still-furrowed brows, Su Ji abruptly shifted topics.
"Don't waste time worrying about the tribulation."
"Instead, you should focus on... something else."
"What else?"
Su Ji's expression darkened further, more solemn than when he had mentioned the "divine punishment."
"Besides the divine punishment..."
"When I establish my foundation, I'll also trigger... an inner demon."
An inner demon?
Su Jiu froze.
Her lips parted, but no words came out.
Divine punishment and an inner demon?
Anyone listening would think a supreme expert was ascending to the upper realm.
Was this really the kind of spectacle a Qi Refining cultivator should face when breaking through to Foundation Establishment?
Su Ji's troubles seemed even more outrageous than those of a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox like her.
"Are you certain, Senior Brother?"
Her voice wavered slightly.
Su Ji nodded heavily, his face etched with helpless resignation.
"Absolutely."
Su Jiu was truly at a loss now.
Her delicate brows knitted as she frantically combed through her clan's records for any mention of inner demons.
"Inner demons... I know very little."
Her voice was soft, tinged with defeat.
"But like heavenly tribulations, outsiders can hardly interfere."
"I do have some methods to calm the mind and steady the spirit—ways to help you stabilize your consciousness."
"But when it comes to confronting the inner demon... in the end, you'll have to rely on yourself."
The moment she finished speaking, Su Ji's eyes lit up. He seized her hand and began playing with her fingers.
"Any help is better than none!"
Buff or no buff, he'd take what he could get.
Su Jiu was caught off guard by his sudden enthusiasm.
She instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Su Ji only tightened his grip.
"Senior Brother, let go first."
"This... this method is a bit... unconventional."
"How unconventional?"
Her cheeks flushed as she averted her gaze, unable to meet his unnervingly bright eyes.
"It's called [Soul and Flesh Entwined]."
Her voice was barely audible, the last few words likely only reaching her own ears.
"It's a secret art of the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox lineage, usable only by those with pure bloodline."
"To perform it, the caster and recipient must... synchronize their minds, merge their spiritual senses, and become one."
Su Ji blinked, baffled.
"Junior Sister, speak plainly. I don’t understand."
Su Jiu bit her lower lip.
"Don’t worry about it. If you truly can’t overcome the inner demon, then we’ll discuss it..."
She doubted it would come to that.
Just look at Su Ji—even while fleeing for his life, he couldn’t resist taunting the fire drake.
How could someone like him possibly have an inner demon?
If anything, the ones developing inner demons should be the people who crossed paths with him.
tions: attribute allocation, analysis, proficiency, and simulation. Specializing in mechanical alchemy, from crafting sorcerous battle armor to handcrafting mechanical maidens, his mechanical legion conquers endless realms... Relying on his wits, he begins with a student-teacher romance, wins over a female director, enslaves a female assassin and a underworld queen, becoming the husband of a Grand Duchess... He enslaves the Goddess of Magic from the divine realm, developing his power simultaneously in both the Wizard World and the Realm of Gods...
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
